Excavating apparatus



Sept. 10, 1935. c. H. DUPREE 1-:- AL

EXCAVATING APPARATUS R2 SEER l W F E U U a MNMU m 6 EH 0 mm V M T Um. WmL m- A a FEL 8 g 5 Filed Oct. 3, 1935 Sept. 10, 1935. Q DUPREI; r AL2,013,750

EXCAVATING APPARATUS :14 INVENTORSI. 3 .iLEXHNDER ECUTHEERISUN.

ORNEY.

P 1935. c. H. DUPREE El AL EXCAVATING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 3, 1935 3Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTQRS. LQL EXHNDE? RLC'L/THBE RISDN. 7-1. UL/ P EE. I

ORNEY.

Patented Sept. 10, 1935 UNETED STAT EXCAVATING APPARATUS ApplicationOctober 3, 1933, Serial No. 691,990

9 Claims.

Our invention relates to excavating, and particularly to apparatus forscooping, and/ or digging and discharging rock, dirt and the like; andis particularly useful in tunnel and ditch work where the walls of theexcavation must be preserved and inherently limit lateral movements ofparts of excavating apparatus. However, we do not limit the invention tosuch work for reasons, and illustrations of other possible uses,hereinafter given.

The general objects of the invention include the provision of a carrieror boom and a scoop or shovel thereon operable to effect scooping ofrock, dirt or the like longitudinally, as well as vertically and atintermediate angles; and means for effecting dumping or discharge of therock, dirt or the like at the rear of the apparatus in tunnel and ditchwork.

The first general object stated above is accomplished by providing aboom or carrier having one end pivotally mounted preferably on a drum orturntable on the floor of the cab of the machine, and its other endcurved upwardly and rearwardly, the said curved end and substantiallystraight portion of the boom between its ends being provided with guidesalong which the scoopbucket moves. The bucket may have digging orscooping movement on either or both portions of the boom, that is, itmay scoop dirt, rock or the like while moving along the substantiallystraight portion of the boom, and when filled the boom may be raised toelevate the curved end so that subsequent movement of the buckettherealong will result in dumping toward the rear or reversely to itsdigging movement. Such would be the action in digging or scooping on thefloor or bottom of an excavation. In digging or scooping along aninclined or vertical wall, the bucket may be moved to positions on thecurved end to adjust its angle to the surface,

after which it may be moved along the remainder of the curved end toeffect dumping to the rear, although I will hereinafter describe amodification in respect to the dumping. In general the bucket depends onthe carrier or boom for guided movement, and generally digs or scoopsunder force independent of the movements of the boom or carrier,although it may move with and under force imparted by movement of theboom in 53 certain instances.

In connection with the second general object mentioned above, that is,the discharge of the rock, dirt or the like, a hopper is providedpreferably on top of the cab and into which the dirt is dumped from thebucket. This hopper is movtil able to positions to discharge itscontents into cars or trucks at the rear of the machine; and certaindetails, such as its scraper action, cushioning effect for the materialdumped therein, ad-' justable discharge capacity, will be described in:5 detail later. At present we would only state that the relativecapacities of the bucket and hopper are preferably such that the lattermay contain several loads from the bucket, so that whether or not a caror truck be available at certain 10 times the scooping or digging anddumping operation may continue, and also the hopper may be dischargingeven while the bucket is digging or scooping.

All of the objects and advantages of the in- 15.

vention and the details of construction and operation by which they areaccomplished will be pointed out and referred to during the course ofthe following detailed description of the accompanying drawings, inwhich 20 Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view throughapparatus embodying the invention taken on the line l-l of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1; 25 Fig. 3 isa rear elevation of the said apparatus; Fig. 4 is a front elevation ofthe said apparatus;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing certain parts in differentpositions; 30

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side elevation of a modification in the boom orbucket carrier;

Fig. 7 is a view taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 6 showing a further modification in the boom or bucketcarrier; 35

and

Fig. 9 is a small front elevation of excavating apparatus showingfurther modification particularly in regard to the bucket dumping means.

In the drawings, particularly in Figs. 1-5, the numeral if! designatesthe floor of the cab, which is mounted on supports it carried by acrawler tractor t2, the rear wheels of which are driven by chains 53trained around sprocket It, in turn driven by mechanism hereinafterreferred to. The floor It has at the four corners thereof, uprights l5rigidly connected thereto at their bases in any suitable manner, andbetween the front pair of uprights and also the rear pair of uprightsbelow their upper ends are cross bars or plates l6, rigidly connected ateach end to the uprights as by rivets or bolts H. The cross bars Itsupport the roof $8 of the cab, and which in effect, as will behereinafter explained, constitutes the fixed floor of what will betermed a scraper hopper. A portion of the floor l8 extends beyond therear uprights l 5, and as shown best in Figs. 2 and 3, is out alonglines providing marginal portions or rearwardly extending tracks l9, anda downwardly inclined portion 23 provides a discharge chute. To the sideextensions l9 are secured downwardly inclined plates 2 l, the forwardends of which meet the portion 20.

The scraper hopper comprises a front wall 22 which is inclined frombeyond and above the uprights l5 downwardly toward the front of thefloor 18. The hopper has a bottom 23 which normally covers only aportion of the floor i8 at the front thereof, due to the fact that thesaid bottom of the scraper hopper is preferably substantially V-shaped,as indicated by the numeral 24 in Fig. 2. Side walls or plates 25 arecoextensive with the height of front wall 22 and length of the bottom23, and are secured to both by any suitable means. The scraper hopperalso includes a rear plate or upstanding wall 21 normally locatedadjacent the top edge of the chute 2i) and connected to struts or braces28 which in turn are also connected to the side walls 25. Channel strips30 are connected to the upper ends of the uprights l5, there being oneat each side of the carriage or frame and extending forwardly beyond thefront pair of uprights and rearwardly beyond the rear pair. Rollers 3!are rotatably supported on studs 32 connected to the sides 25, therollers being disposed in the channels of the members 38.

Summarizing the structure and parts of the scraper or discharge hopper,the same includes the inclined front wall connected to side walls oflesser length than the floor l8, (which is the cab roof) and apreferably substantially V- shaped bottom connected between the said andfront side walls 2! and 25 respectively. The substantially V-shapedbottom 23 is of lesser area than floor [8, so that there is a space orarea on the floor I 8 which is not covered. There is also a spacebetween the ends of the side walls 25 and rear wall 21, which is coveredby side plates 34. These plates 34 may conveniently be formed by bendingup the sides of the bottom 18 inside of the uprights l5 and outside ofthe side walls 25 of the scraper hopper. Obviously, the scraper hopperhas sliding, and/or rolling movement along the floor l8, which will behereinafter described.

Boom or bucket carrier structure At the forward end of the floor lpreferably forwardly of the front uprights l and beneath the front 2! ofthe scraper hopper, a drum or turntable 36 is rotatably mounted on abearing 31. In the center of the drum or turntable 36 is mounted avertical mast 33, the bottom of which has flanges 39, rigidly secured tothe top of the turntable, so that the mast will rotate with theturntable. A pair of struts 69 having flanges 4! at their bottomsrigidly secured to the floors as by means of bolts or the like, areinclined upwardly and forwardly, converging toward each other. Aprojection 42 on top of the mast 38 is mounted through openings in thetops of the struts. Thus, the mast is rotatably supported in an uprightposition for rotation with the drum or turntable 36.

A plate 44 is also rigidly secured on the drum or turntable in front ofthe mast 38, as by means of bolts 45, engaging into the drum, said platehaving upstanding sides 46 through which and the inner end of the boomis a shaft or pin 41 pivotally securing the boom, which is designatedgenerally by the numeral 43 in Fig. 1, on the drum. In view of the rigidconnection of the plate 45 to the drum, the boom of course is rotatablewith the drum. The said inner end of the 5 boom as shown in Fig. 2, isbifurcated providing a notch 49 for a reason presently explained. Theboom comprises a relatively wide straight portion or arm 50 provided ineach side with a channel 5|, and the outer end of the boom is curvedupwardly and then inwardly toward the mast 38, providing a hook-shapedend, the curvature being either arcuate or parabolic. The channelsextend around the sides of the curved or hookshaped end 52. The said end52 is also bifurcated providing a space 53, on each side of which areplates 54, the outer ends of which conform substantially to thecurvature of the said end of the boom and the inner ends of which taperdownwardly toward the straight portion 50. A sheave 55 is mounted in thespace 53 for rotation on a stub-shaft 56 secured between the plates 54,and a second and smaller pair of sheaves 51 and 58 are mounted betweenthe inner ends of the plates 54 on stub-shafts 59, 60, respectively,also secured between plates 54.

The bucket 6| may be of any form, preferably rectangular and provided atits forward end on the lower wall with teeth 62. A U-shaped frame orplate 63 is rigidly connected to the top wall of the scoop and rollers65, disposed within the grooves 5| of the boom, are rotatably mounted onpins or bolts 66 secured to the opposite sides of the said frame 63.

A U-shaped bracket 10 embraces the mast 38 and is secured thereto as bybolts or rivets H adjacent its top. The side arms of the bracket extendbeyond the mast and a double sheave 12 is rotatably secured between thearms of the bracket on a pin or bolt 73. Another bracket 74 is attachedto the bottom of the floor l0 beneath the mast 38 and a pair of sheaves15, 75', are rotatably mounted in said bracket on a pin or bolt 76. Adrum 7'! (see also dotted indications Fig. 2) is supported on a suitablebearing on the floor l0 and is driven by any suitable gear and rod orother driving connection '!8 from motor or engine of known type and inknown manner.

A cable 19 is secured to and wound around the drum Ti and then passesaround sheave 15 through an opening in the floor l0 and turntable 36upwardly over one of the grooves and sheaves 12 down around sheave 58and back around the other groove in the sheave l2, and there is securedto itself as by splicing or clamping.

Operation of the boom A plurality of levers controlling clutches, notshown, located within the engine or motor box designated generally bythe numeral 86 in Fig. 1, are located adjacent the front platform I!) sothat the operator may manipulate them to control the differentoperations about to be described, including the raising and lowering ofthe boom. One such lever is designated by the numeral 8| in Fig. 2 andcontrols the rotation of the drum Tl and consequently the winding andunwinding of the cable 79. Obviously, with the boom in the full lineposition of Fig. 1, the cable would be partiallyunwound from the drum11, and, of course, when the operator manipulates the lever 81 to causemechanism for driving or rotating the drum T1, the cable will be woundonto the said drum and due to the pull between the sheaves 12 and 58will raise the boom. Re-

verse movement of the drum will of course let the cable out, so that theboom will move down.

The boom may also be turned from side to side with the turntable, aroundwhich is wound a cable 83, also wound around drum 84 located on floorIll and rotated by a suitable gear mechanism 85, also driven by theengine or motor and controlled by lever 86.

Scoop-bucket operating means and operation 'A cable 88 is fastened to ananchor 89 on the scoop bucket and passes around the sheave 55 and thendownwardly and under the sheave 5'! over sheave 8?, and under sheave E5to a drum 89 similar to and adjacent the drum l5 and which is driven bysuitable means, such as sprockets and chain 99 from the main power shaftof the engine or motonthe operation of the drum 89 being controlled by asuitable lever Si in known manner. Obviously, when the boom is insubstantially horizontal position and the bucket is retracted or nearthe turntable 36 or inner end of the boom, the boom may be turned tobring the-bucket into alinement with the rock, dirt or the like to bescooped. The lever 95 is then manipulated to cause the drum 89 to windthe cable 88 exerting a pull on the bucket moving it forwardly on theboom until it is filled. T -is explanation applies only to scooping or"loose rock or leveling ground. When the bucket is filled, it may be nearthe curved end 52 of the boom. To effect dumping of the bucket, thelever 8| manipulated to cause the boom to pass from the full lineposition of Fig. 1 through the intermediate dotted line position of thesame figure into the final dotted line position with the curved ends ofplates 5'3 abutting the stop 93 at the front of the hopper, and the endof the curved or hook shapedportion of the boom pointing down. Lever 9|is again manipulated to causefurther pull of the cable 88 on the bucket,so that it passes around the curved end of the boom and is inverted,dumping its contents into the scraper hopper. The levers S! and Eli arethen actuated to cause the boom to belowered and the bucket to beretracted along the boom for a repetition of the scooping and dumpingoperation.

Operation. of the scraper hopper The scraper hopper has attachedadjacent the rear edge of each of the sides 25, brackets 84 to which aresecured the ends of cables 95 which pass around sheaves 95 located atthe rear of the channels Bil and rotatably supported at that point. Thecables 95 also pass downwardly on opposite sides of the chute 28 todrums Sl'l rotatably supported at opposite ends of the shaft tojcurnaled. in bearings provided on uprights as, and then the cablesafter being wound around the drums pass upwardly around sheaves 955rotatably supported on the forward ends of the channels 30 and aresecured to the front of the scraper hopper, asindicated by the numeralHill. The shaft 538 and drums 97 are rotated to the left or right bysuitable drive connection i li such as chain and sprocket driven by themain motor or engine. The operation of the shaft 98 may be controlledoptionally by lever IE2 located adjacent the front of the platform is,as well as by a lever i5 3 located against a platform i534, which may beprovided on th upper part of the frame adjacent the chute 29. In otherwords, an attendant may manipulate the boom and shovel from the front aswell as operate the discharge of the hopper, or a second attendant mayoperate the discharging of the scraper hopper, and he would preferablybe located immediately above the chute where he could observe theposition and contents or" the car or truck.

In digging tunnels as illustrated in Fig. 1, as :55

the rock and dirt are loosened and scooped and removed tracks i535 maybe laid on the floor ,of the tunnel and over which cars lllfi may run toand from beneath the discharge chute 28 to the exterior. tendant onplatform lil l, when a car is beneath the chute and the scraper hoppercontains. a considerable quantity of the rock, dirt or the like,operates lever N33 to cause rotation of the drum in a direction to pullon the anchor points 94 at 15 the rear of the scraper hopper by windingthat portion of the cables between sheave 96 and drum 5? on the drum,and unwinding or lengthening that portion of the cable between sheaves96' and the front of the hopper. As the hopper moves rearwardly, theV-shaped bottom moves across the roof l8, as shown in full and dottedlines in 1., 2 and 5, and the rock or dirt is moved backward as thehopper moves to the rear, at which time the open portion of the bottomof the scraper hopper comes out across the chute'ZlJ so that the dirtruns down the chute and into the car or truck. The manner in which thedirt or rock piles up in the hopper under the construction andarrangement hereinbefore described is shown in Fig. l, where thegreatest quantity is at the front of the hopper and a lesser quantity atthe rear. In actual operation the front of the hopper neverautomatically completely emptied and a quantity of the rock or dirtremains on the portion 23 of the bottom of the hopper forming a cushionfor the rock or dirt, which is dumped from the bucket after thehopper'is returned to the full line position of Fig. .1, from the dottedline position, which is accomplished 40 by reversing the direction ofrotation of the drums S? in obvious manner.

Vertical digging We have explained hereinbefore, that in scooping rockor dirt on a horizontal surface, the boomserves a for the movement ofthe bucket and the cable 85 imparts the scooping movement to the bucket.In digging upwardly, as on an inclined or vertical bank or wall of anexcavation, the bucket is set at a selected position on the boom andthen the boom may be raised to impart the digging movement to thebucket. It will be understood that the bucket may be set at any desiredangle by having one or both'of the rollers located in the curvedportions of the guides 55 to bring the teeth into engagement with thepoint where the digging is to start, according to the angle of the bankor wall. The boom is then raised to force the teeth into the Suchdigging may be on various portions of walls or banks, intermediate thefull line position of Fig. l. and the full line position of 5. Also, thecable 38 may be utilized to move the bucket during vertical digging tochip or shave on uneven surfaces on the bank or wall. Of course, thedumping could be accomplished in th manner previously described, but toillustrate that the curved end of the boom can serve not only toaccomplish dumping of the bucket, but 7 also the vertical digging apartfrom such dumpwe illustrated in Fig. 9 a construction and arrangementidentical with Fig. 1 except that the bucket has a hinged bottom Hi8 ofknowntype which can be maintained closed dur- With the foregoing inmind, the at- 10' ing a digging operation, and after the boom has beenswung around with the turntable to bring it over a trunk the bottom H38may be opened to dump the contents.

Modifications intermediate the ends of the curve of the said outer wall.The front rollers I2 on the bucket carrier are substantially the samewidth as the channels 5| but the rear rollers H3 are not as Wide as thenotch II B in the outer wall of the channels. Therefore, when the bucketis raised to the end of the boom and is drawn around the curved end, therollers IIZ pass across the notches III] and substantially around thecurved end, at which time the narrow rollers H3 move i away from theboom as the forward end of the bucket is beginning to tilt down and thebucket assumes the dotted line position of Fig. 6 dumping its contents.The final tilting of the bucket is sudden due to the shifting of theweight relative to the center of gravity and facilitates the dumping.When the boom begins to lower, the rollers I I3 fall back against theinner wall of the channels through the notches H9 and again enter thechannels SI along the straight portion of the boom as the bucket islowered or retracted.

The purpose of the construction shown in Fig. 8 is the same as thatshown in Fig. 7, namely, to facilitate dumping of the bucket at thecurved end of the boom when the same is elevated. In such constructionthere are two pairs of channels along the straight portion of the boom,an upper channel H5 corresponding to the channel 5I of Figs. 1-5 and alower channel I I6. At the upper end or mouth of the bucket there areattached arms I I1, each carrying a roller H8 in the grooves I I5. Belowthe arms III are arms H9 carrying rollers I26 in the grooves H6. Thegrooves or channels H6 are preferably entirely straight and parallelwith the straight portion of the channels H5 and terminate adjacent thebeginning of the curvature of the channels H5. Obviously, when thebucket is pulled upwardly the rollers I 29 eventually ride out of thechannels H6, but the rollers H8 remain in the channels I I5 and act as apivot for the tilting of the bucket, the same as explained in connectionwith the construction of Fig. 6. When the boom is lowered, the bucketfalls back and the rollers I 20 again ride in the grooves I I6.

In Fig. 5, I have shown an electric motor M located in housing in thecab of the apparatus and therebelow a gasoline engine G. Although it ispossible to have both the gasoline engine and an electric motor, it isalso optional to have one or the other. For instance, in tunnel work itwould.

not be desirable to have the gasoline engine operating because of thefumes from the exhaust, but in general outside work a gasoline or steamengine may be used. These features, as well as the drives and clutchesfor the drums operating the turntable, boom, and shuttle form no part ofthe invention, and we do not deem it necessary to make a detaileddisclosure, as any standard type of equipment for these purposes may beused. We have shown a lever I22 (Fig. 2) for controlling the motor orengine.

We claim:

1. In excavating apparatus including a platform, a boom pivotallymounted at one end on 5 said platform, means to swing said boom up anddown on said pivot, a hopper on top of the cab, the outer end of saidboom being curved upwardly and rearwardly, a scoop bucket carried bysaid boom, and means to move said scoop bucket along 1 said boom andsaid hooked shaped end to dig or scoop, and to reverse the position ofits digging end to effect dumping of its contents into said hopper whenthe boom is elevated and the bucket reaches said rearwardly extendingportion of the 1 curved end by continuing said same moving means.

2. In excavating apparatus including a cab, a boom support on the cab,means to rotate said support, a boom pivotally connected at one end to 2said support for rotation therewith, the other end of the boom beingsurved upwardly and inwardly toward the cab, a scoop bucket carried bysaid boom and having guided movement therealong and along said curvedend, means to raise and 2 lower said boom, means independent of saidlast means to move said scoop bucket along said boom toward and alongsaid curved end to dig or scoop, and a hopper on top of the cab intowhich the scoop bucket dumps when it travels around the 3 curved end ofthe boom when the boom is elevated.

3. In excavating apparatus including a cab, a boom support on the cab,means to rotate said support, a boom pivotally connected at one end 3 tosaid support for rotation therewith, the other end of the boom beingcurved upwardly and inwardly toward the cab and the intermediate portionbeing substantially straight and elongated, a scoop bucket carried bysaid boom and having guided movement along said intermediate portion andalong said curved end, means to raise and lower said boom, meansindependent of said last means to move said scoop bucket along saidintermediate portion and curved end, a hopper on top of the cab intowhich the scoop bucket dumps 4 when it travels around the curved end ofthe boom when the boom is elevated, and means to discharge the materialfrom the hopper into conveyors.

4. In excavating apparatus including a platform, a boom pivotallysupported at one end on said platform, means to swing said boom up anddown on said pivot to raise and lower its other end, said other end ofthe boom being curved, tracks along said boom and said curved end, ascoop bucket, brackets connected to said bucket and carrying rollersdisposed in said tracks, there being forward and rear pairs of rollers,and means to cause said rear rollers to leave their tracks when theforward pair are adjacent the terminus of their tracks at the curved endwhen the boom is elevated whereby the bucket tilts around said forwardrollers to effect dumping.

5. In excavating apparatus including a cab, a boom pivotally supportedat one end of said cab, means to swing said boom up and down on saidpivot to raise and lower its other end, said other end of the boom beingsubstantially hookshaped, a scoop bucket carried by said boom and 7movable therealong to said hook-shaped end, a hopper supported on top ofthe cab and movable therealong forwardly and rearwardly to receivematerial from the scoop bucket when said bucket is on the curved end ofthe boom and the boom 7 is elevated, and to discharge material at therear of the cab.

6. In excavating apparatus including a platform, a boom pivotallymounted on the platform, a scoop bucket movable on said boom todischarge its contents when the boom is in elevated position, a roofsupported above the platform, a hopper slidable along said roof andhaving the rear portion of its bottom open exposing the surface of theroof, a chute at the rear of the roof, and means to reciprocate saidhopper on said roof to discharge contents thereof through said openportion of its bottom and chute.

7. In excavating apparatus including a support, a boom pivotally mountedat its inner end on said support, said boom comprising a relatively longmember having its outer end curved upwardly and inwardly and asubstantially straight portion between said curved end and inner end, ascoop bucket on said boom, means to move said boom on its pivot fromsubstantially horizontal to substantially vertical positions, and meansto move said scoop bucket along said straight portion of the boom toefiect scooping of materials and onto said curved end for dumping thescooped materials, said last means being efiective to establish saidbucket on said curved end of the boom at desired angles relative to thestraight portion and to firmly hold the bucket at said desired anglesduring upward swinging movement of the boom to also efiect digging orscooping on upright surfaces.

8. In excavating apparatus including a support, a boom pivotally mountedat its inner end on said support, said boom comprising a relatively longmember having its outer end curved upwardly and inwardly and asubstantially straight portion between said curved end and inner end, ascoop bucket on said boom, means to move said boom on its pivot fromsubstantially horizontal to substantially vertical positions, means tomove said scoop bucket along said straight portion of the boom to effectscooping of materials and onto said curved end for dumping 5 the scoopedmaterials, said last means being effective to establish said bucket onsaid curved end of the boom at desired angles relative to the straightportion and to firmly hold the bucket at said desired angles duringupward swinging movement of the boom to also efiect digging or scoopingon upright surfaces, and means to rotate said support to swing the boom.

9. In excavating apparatus including a support, a boom pivotally mountedat its inner end on said support, said boom comprising a relatively longmember having its outer end curved upwardly and inwardly and asubstantially straight portion between said curved end and inner end, ascoop bucket on said boom, means to move said boom on its pivot fromsubstantially horizontal to substantially vertical positions, means tomove said scoop bucket along said straight portion of the boom to effectscooping of materials and onto said curved end for dumping the scoopedmaterials, said last means being effective to establish said bucket onsaid curved end of the boom at desired angles relative to the straightportion and to firmly hold the bucket at said desired angles duringupward swinging movement of the boom to also effect digging or scoopingon upright surfaces, and means above said support to receive thecontents of the scoop bucket when the bucket is substantially at theterminus of the curved outer end of the boom and when the boom is inelevated position.

CHARLES H. DUPREE. ALEXANDER R. CUTHBERTSON.

